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StartSmart4kids (r) and the CIS Brain Development Programme for 2-6 year olds - An advantage to stay ahead!

All children are born wired for feelings and ready to learn.

Early environments matter. Children will automatically seek out opportunities to learn and need relationships with other humans for healthy development.  At CIS we create the environment for each child to excel and within that environment we have built activities that will enhance children’s emotional, regulatory, and social development as well as increase their maths and language skills in Chinese and English.

Some aspects of the brain are genetically determined and most neurons (nerve cells) are present at birth. The structures in the brain to build on social, emotional and mental development are developed in early childhood. The capacity to build on this is greatest in early chilhood and decreases over time. By 6 years old a child’s brain is 95% the size of an adult’s and there are windows of opportunity up to 6 years old for brain development.

It is thought that the brain closes down (eliminates) synapses (connections among neurons) that are produced and not used, therefore making it harder to learn later on. the best example of this is a foreign language. however the ability to learn does continue through life but the learning can become harder!

Early stimulation is imperative for brain development – observation is not sufficient. Outside factors such as family stress, abuse, neglect can damage developing brains and poor nutrition can damage developing brain structures.

We identified the importance of: - Early identifiction of any developmental concern(s), low teacher/child ratios, small size groups, nutritional meal s in school, modern classroom designed to stimulate, provision of plenty of educational toys and activities, ability for the child to explore, experiment and play act within their school environment, and inter-action with the other school children and teachers. Remember that young children under 6 have windows of opportunity when they develop an excess of synapses (neuron connections) to use to further develop their brain, but if not used these excess synapses become redundant and are eliminated.

"The foundation for a learning journey through life."